Jamie Samuelsen, co-host of the "Jamie and Stoney" show at 6 a.m. weekdays on WXYT-FM (97.1), blogs for freep.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. You can reach him at jamsam22@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @jamiesamuelsen.

If you’re a Tigers fan, should you be happy, disappointed or something else as you hear “Michael Fulmer” and “trade” in the same sentence?

When you’re a kid, you don’t totally get the concept of rebuilding or shedding salary. You look at your favorite team, hope for the best and root like crazy.

The Detroit Tigers waved the white flag on this era by trading Justin Verlander, J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton during the season. They fired manager Brad Ausmus, brought in Ron Gardenhire and made it very clear they would be sellers during the offseason.

That didn’t dim the enthusiasm in my 11 year-old son, who still tried to make the case for the Tigers contending in 2018 with Miguel Cabrera, Nick Castellanos and Ian Kinsler as the heart of the offense.

So when Kinsler was traded last week for the 20th and 24th best prospects in the Los Angeles Angels organization, his response was simple. “Rebuilding sucks.”

Yes it does. And it will get worse before it gets better. How much worse? Well, the Tigers have one known commodity of value on their roster right now and that’s Michael Fulmer. And now, Al Avila says he’s listening to offers on Fulmer.

Some suggest dealing Fulmer is a no-brainer given the fact that the Tigers need prospects, lots of them and he would bring more than any other player in the organization.

Avila has been honest and forthcoming about where the Tigers are and who he’s willing to trade. So there’s no reason to doubt if the right offer came, he would allow Fulmer to walk.

You never say never in this game, so I can’t put a definitive no on this. But I’m not trading Fulmer unless the offer blows the Tigers away and includes one of the top ten or fifteen prospects in the game. And that prospect would have to be an everyday player, something the Tigers have lacked in their farm system for decades.

Michael Fulmer was an All-Star in 2017, his second season in the majors. He is 21-19 with a 3.45 ERA in 51 starts with the Tigers.(Photo: Kirthmon F. Dozier DFP)

Here’s the thing people neglect when they talk of dealing Fulmer — he’s a prospect. He happens to be a prospect that has developed more quickly than most do. Fulmer will be 25 years old when the 2018 season begins. Assuming he stays healthy, there’s no reason to think he won’t be a frontline pitcher for at least the next decade. Isn’t that exactly what you’re looking for when you’re rebuilding and looking for ‘prospects?' Just because he matured faster than other players, it doesn’t mean he has aged in dog years and is all of a sudden some declining veteran.

When you’re a team in the Tigers position, you’re looking for young, cheap talent. You’re looking for it by the bushel. The best way to do this is via the draft but the Tigers haven’t done that well in quite a few years, at least not to any extent that we’ve seen at the Major League level.

Avila is using the other means at his disposal to build up depth in the organization. While we have no idea what any of these prospects will become, there is no doubt the Tigers now have more prospects in their system than they did a year ago at this time. That’s the good part. The bad part is we know this will be a 100-loss team with very little to watch on a nightly basis next summer.

Casey Stern, host of “Inside Pitch” on MLB Radio, has a catchphrase he now puts on shirts: Prospects are cool, Parades are cooler.

If you have a chance to go for it, like the Houston Astros did last season by acquiring Verlander, you should go for it. I agree with that sentiment. Part of the reason that holds true is you never know with prospects. For every Verlander, there’s a Humberto Sanchez. For every Bryce Harper, there’s a Phil Nevin. You think you know what these guys are going to turn into, but you never truly know until they make it to the big club.

You know what you have in Fulmer: A workhorse ace who can anchor this rotation for years to come. Yes, even through the dark years until things brighten again. To trade him for players who have never played in the majors and may never is a huge risk.

Fulmer is coming off elbow surgery, which I understand raises the stakes. But I also think he has room to grow as a pitcher. Keeping him is not about appeasing the fans or giving them someone to root for at Comerica Park in 2018.

It’s about the fact Avila is searching for good, young, cheap talent. Keep searching. Keep looking. Keep listening. But when you actually come upon someone who fits that description perfectly, like Fulmer, you might think about holding onto him.